18/01/2023
More than one hundred and forty LGBTQIA organisations, including many feminist and women led groups, have joined forces in one of the most united fronts the community’s many and varied groups have ever mustered. Together, and via the LGBT Consortium network, they have written to the Prime Minister urging him to reconsider the path the government have embarked on with regard to Gender Recognition Act reforms in Scotland. A spokesperson from the charity Stonewall remarked, “Ending recognition of GRCs from as many as fourteen countries who are our close allies and seeking to block implementation of the Scottish GRR Bill have significant consequences for trans people who are directly affected. But this also sends a message that the UK government sees trans people as a threat to be contained, not citizens to be respected. “These moves cut against the inclusive values that characterise modern Britain and will actively harm the UK’s international reputation as an open, diverse and dynamic society – one of the reasons why global corporations that proudly support LGBTQ+ rights are attracted to doing business in the UK. They will have significant political consequences in the UK and internationally”. Left wing political commentators have noticed that the Westminster government’s preoccupation with trans issues comes suddenly, when they are experiencing an NHS crisis and growing industrial action. They say that the attempt to create a moral panic about trans people is designed to shift attention from their many problems and the meltdown in their support.
